Two Witnesses
by Tara1993
Summary: A collection of pre episode drabbles. Mostly just my thoughts on how the upcoming episodes might go based on the previews we get. Ichabbie friendship, or pre relationship, whatever you prefer. Updated 11/20 from the preview for 1.09 'Sanctuary'
1. John Doe

**My first Sleepy Hollow fic, yay! Love this show, love these two! I did realize however that it's extreamly difficult to write for Ichabod. Everything has to sound very proper, and he's very wordy, which I am not used to. So if I didn't quite capture his voice here, forgive me, hopefully I'll get better. Feel free to read this as Ichabbie or simply as a friendship fic, it works either way I suppose. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

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Abbie had been sitting in the waiting room for what seemed like forever. A glance at a clock told her it had only been an hour and fifteen minutes.

An hour and fifteen minutes since she'd rushed through the doors of the hospital, antidote in hand. Whatever this plague was that had taken over Sleepy Hollow, she'd been left to deal with on her own after Ichabod had ended up infected.

He was lying in a hospital bed in the corner when she'd entered the room. She'd handed the vial of medicine off to the doctor in charge; he'd thanked her and swiftly had her removed from the room. She caught a glimpse of Ichabod though, he didn't look well. His eyes were closed, his skin was pale, to pale. Black veins stood out in stark contrast, she could see them running up his arms, along his chest. She'd wanted so badly to talk to him, to let him know that she'd figured it out, that she'd gotten the antidote, that it was going to be okay. One of the other doctors had pushed her out of the room and she'd ended up exactly where she was now, sitting in a waiting room, for an hour and eighteen minutes now.

She heard rustling behind the doors of the room where the patients were being held and finally a doctor emerged. Abbie stood as she walked over to her.

"Miss. Mills correct?" She asked; Abbie nodded.

"I wanted to thank you for your help; if you hadn't gotten that antidote here as soon as you did a lot of people would have died today."

"So everyone's okay?" Abbie questioned. The doctors face took on a grim expression, Abbie knew she wouldn't like what was coming next.

"A few of the patients were too far along for the antidote to do much good, unfortunately all we can do now is make them comfortable." The doctor explained.

"But we still owe you a thank you Miss. Mills; you saved a lot of people today." She added.

"How long will they have to stay here till they can be released?" Abbie asked.

"We're getting ready to discharge them now actually, whatever that stuff was, I've never seen anyone heal so quickly, they seem good as new, and all their vitals check out, they'll be ready to go soon."

Abbie nodded and the doctor retreated back into the room.

She'd been trying to read the doctors expressions. She didn't want to come right out and ask about Ichabod, she assumed the doctor knew they were working together. She didn't offer Abbie any condolences so; she figured no news was good news.

She sat back down in one of the extremely uncomfortable chairs and started to wait, again.

Eventually people started leaving. She watched as small groups of people left together, or a few filtered out on their own. She hadn't realized how many people had been infected until she watched them all walk past her. Eventually the small trickle of people leaving stopped and Abbie was left in silence again. She found herself fidgeting so she sat on her hands. He'd walk through the door any second now, he'd probably look confused but he'd smile at her and say something ridiculous and they'd laugh. Any second now, she kept telling herself that over and over. Seconds came and went, it had been an hour and forty minutes now, an hour and forty minutes since she'd seen him. Was he one of the few that had been to far gone? He didn't look to well when she saw him but to be honest none of them really looked good. She shook her head to clear the thoughts; he was fine, if he could survive two hundred and fifty some odd years buried underground, he could survive this. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, watching the door just made anxious, besides he'd be out any second.

At some point she must have fallen asleep, she didn't remember doing it but the next thing she knew she could feel herself being shaken slightly.

"Miss. Mills?"  
Her eyes shot open and she glanced at the chair next to her. There he sat, still in those same ratty old clothes. She acted without thinking and wrapped her arms around him in what made for a very awkward, sideways hug, given the arm rests between them. He stiffened for a second; clearly unsure of what to do, but when she didn't let go he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her waist, returning the embrace.

When she finally let go she slapped him on the arm which only succeeded in making him look even more confused.

"I am not sure why that was necessary." He said, rubbing his shoulder.

"What the hell took you so long? I've been sitting out here for a half hour thinking you'd died." She scolded him.

"I simply wanted to ensure that I was sufficiently well enough to be released." He explained.

Abbie's eyes softened a bit.

"Just," She stopped for a second, trying to decide what to say. "Just don't scare me like that okay?"

His brow furrowed in confusion, clearly not understanding her meaning.

"It's just," She took a deep breath, "This isn't exactly an easy job to do on my own, okay, it's no fun being the only witness, it's much better if there's someone else along for the ride." She said with a hint of a smile.

"You mean a second witness perhaps?" He was kidding with her now; she knew he'd understood what she meant.

"Something like that yeah." She said her smile widening.

"Well I'd be happy to take on the role."

She sighed, and stood up,

"I suppose you'll do." She said casually. He pulled out the perfect mock offended look and she laughed.

"So how did you find the antidote?" he asked, moving onto more serious conversation.

"It's a pretty long story." She thought for a moment. "When's the last time you had a decent meal?" She asked, knowing already what the answer would be.

"A few centuries I'd wager." He stood up next to her.  
"We'll go back to my place; I'll make us a decent dinner and tell you all about it." He nodded and she moved towards the door.

"Miss. Mills?" She turned back to face him.

"I understand you were worried for me, I just wanted to thank you for the concern." He said, She shrugged, brushing it off even though she knew what it meant.

"I am glad that we're working together." He added. She smiled.

"I wouldn't want to work with just any witness." She said, it came across lightly but he read the seriousness in her eyes.

"I feel quite the same." He agreed.

She nodded and smiled.

"Let's get a move on then Crane, I haven't eaten in ages." She said dramatically, he fell into step beside her,

"I think in the contest of who hasn't eaten the longest I might win every time." He said, glancing down at her.

She laughed and he held the door open for her as they walked back into the night.


	2. Sin Eater

**This turned out more depressing than I wanted it to, sorry. But really, that promo hurt, like a lot. I am writing this with the idea that when Abbie and Ichabod learn about his fate they don't know about this 'sin eater' thing. Again this can be taken as simply Ichabbie friendship or pre relationship, whichever you please.**

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She needed some air. Or at least that was what she told him; really she just needed to be alone for a bit. She stepped out the back door of the cabin, and watched as the sun slowly descended behind the trees. She was angry, she could feel it coursing through her veins like fire, but she had no one to direct it at. She knew who she'd like to direct it at, but if she was being honest it wasn't fair to blame Katrina. She'd only been trying to help; she just wanted to save her husband. Now, however, he was tied to a pretty cruel fate, to be buried underground for 200 some years, only to be re awakened and then told that to stop the end of the world, he'd have to die.

"Dammit." Abbie swore and angrily brushed the tears off her cheeks. She didn't want to cry about this but she couldn't help it. She picked a rock up off the ground and hurled it at a nearby tree. It felt good, she needed an outlet but there was no convenient punching bag around, the trees would have to do. She continued to toss rocks at the tree trucks', eventually becoming so numb to what was happening that she didn't realize she was crying and shouting until she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The tears wouldn't stop though. She was scared, worried, how had she come to feel so attached to this man after a little more than a month? The last time she'd been this upset it had been after Corbin had been killed, and she still wasn't over that. Eventually she felt warm arms wrap around her and she knew he'd come to check on her. He sat down behind her and she turned in his embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, and he let her cry. He tried to offer comforting words; he held her close and rubbed her back but her tears continued.

After to long her eyes finally ran dry and she was left just holding him, which suddenly felt to invasive. She let her arms fall into her lap and wouldn't meet his gaze.

"I am sorry." She said, her voice was rough from crying.

"I understand." He said quietly.

"I don't." It came out harsher than she'd intended, she shook her head.

"I just don't understand what I am supposed to feel right now. I mean, I want to be mad but I can't because there isn't anyone to be mad at, Katrina was only trying to help, I can't take it out on her. I want to be sad and upset but that's not fair to you because you should be the one to be upset not me." Her voice cracked and she took a deep breath, she couldn't cry anymore, she didn't have it in her.

"I just don't want to do this alone." She sounded pathetic and she hated it, she was stronger than this, but somehow he'd come to mean so much to her.

He was silent for a while, she watched him carefully, trying to gauge what he was feeling but his face was blank.

"Would you like some tea?" He finally asked. Her face contorted in confusion.

"What?" She didn't understand.

"You'll catch a cold if you sit out here much longer, come inside, I'll make some tea." His voice was even, he didn't seem fazed at all.

"Alright, sure." He stood first and offered his hand; she took it and let him pull her up. When he didn't let go she felt a little better. They walked up to the cabin together and he held the door for her. She followed him into the kitchen and watched as he went about getting the tea ready. It was one of the few things he was able to do using modern instruments and he was quite proud of himself the first time he accomplished a decent cup of tea. She smiled at the memory and sat down at the table to watch. Neither of them spoke until the tea was poured, he handed her a cup and walked into the small living room area, he took a seat on the sofa and she followed, sitting next to him and letting the heat from the mug warm her hands.

"I don't want you to be upset." He said finally, breaking the silence.

"How can I not be upset?" she asked, "I don't want you to die, it's just not fair." She protested.

"No, but it's necessary." She glanced at him in astonishment.

"How can you be so calm about this?" She asked.

"Because I understand that it's for a greater purpose, to sacrifice my life, it will save millions." He sounded so sure of himself.

There were so many things she wanted to say, to argue, but what ended up coming out was,

"I can't lose you." She'd said it so quiet she almost though he hadn't heard her. He sat his cup down on the table in front of them, and took hers from her hand and did the same then took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, and damn if the tears didn't spring up in her eyes again.  
"I am forever grateful to have met you Abbie." He never used her first name, which only made her eyes well up with tears even more.

"You believed me when no one else would and that means a great deal to me. And while I have grown quite fond of you, and have begun to enjoy our partnership and friendship, I cannot be selfish in matters that are so important." She kept her eyes on his as he talked.

"If taking my life will mean taking the horseman's life then it must be done, he mustn't be allowed to harm anyone else."  
"There's another way, there has to be, we can break the link between you two, they did it in Harry Potter right, there's gotta be a way." She was rambling now, reaching for any other option, the Harry Potter reference went right over his head, she knew but there had to be a second choice.

"I don't think there is." He said firmly.

"Ask Katrina, the next time you see her, ask, I am sure she wouldn't want you to die either, maybe she knows something we don't." She pressed.

His eyes softened.

"I'll ask, but if this is the only way Abbie you must promise that you won't interfere." He held her hands tighter. Her eyes filled with tears again and when she blinked they fell down her cheeks. He brushed them away gently and took her hand again.

"I promise." It was the hardest thing she'd ever had to say.

"And I promise to ask Katrina when I see her next." She nodded and let him wrap his arms around her again. He pulled her close and she fit comfortably into his embrace.

"Things will turn out fine Abbie, I promise." He said. She nodded and felt her eyelids droop with exhaustion. In minutes she was asleep curled up against him, their tea sitting forgotten on the table. He looked down at her and brushed a few stay pieces of hair from her face.

"It will be alright, whatever happens, you'll be alright." He pulled her closer, shut his eyes and let a few tears of his own fall.


	3. Midnight Ride

**So how awesome was that episode right! The idea for this chapter came from the scene in the preview where their talking about finding a witch. I was pretty sure I saw some soft drink cups off to the side so I decided to do a light-hearted chapter this week, so you get Ichabod verses Fast food. Enjoy and send me a review to let me know what you think! Thanks guys! **

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Abbie hopped in her car and turned the engine on, she sat a few seconds, waiting for the heat to kick in, the weather in Sleepy Hollow had turned colder these past few days. Once again she felt a pang of regret that Ichabod was walking to the archives alone. She had offered to pick him up but as always he insisted that he could walk. She was surprised, especially since the whole kidnapping ordeal had only been a day ago but he was persistent. She supposed she couldn't fault him for wanting a bit of freedom and the cabin wasn't that far from town, maybe a three or four-minute walk. She was seriously considering buying him a cell phone though, nothing fancy, just something she could use to call if she ever needed to find out where he was. There were occasions where he'd end up spending the evening on her sofa but that was few and far between now that he had a place of his own. Mostly he only hung around her house if they had battled the latest demon deep into the early hours of the morning and she was too exhausted to make two stops.

She'd dropped him off at the cabin the other night though, a small voice in her head didn't want to leave him alone after everything they'd been though that day, she wanted to keep him close but she also knew he probably needed a bit of space. So she dropped him off and told him she'd meet him at the archives the next day.  
The heat had warmed her car enough so she put it in drive and took off.

She was however going to get food for them. She knew he probably hadn't eaten much last night so he'd be hungry. She swung by the nearest fast food joint and pulled into the drive through. The trouble was she didn't know what he'd want. She studied the menu a few times over, looking for something that would be passable to a man two hundred and thirty some years out of time. In the end she ordered them both cheeseburgers and fries, got herself a soda and him an iced tea, after the last incident with energy drinks and carbonation she knew he would probably want something simple to drink.

The parking lot of the archives was surprisingly empty for eleven o'clock on a Tuesday but Abbie didn't mind, fewer distractions.

She smiled at Wendy the receptionist as she entered the building.

"He got here about twenty minutes ago." Wendy said, giving Abbie a quick wave as she continued her paperwork.

"Thanks!" Abbie called, making her way down the hallway.

Wendy was sweet, she was a little older than Abbie, maybe in her mid forties, but she'd instantly taken to Ichabod. She was always checking up on he and Abbie when they were around and Ichabod had grown to enjoy her presence, sometimes Abbie caught them chatting with each other when she showed up.

Ichabod was already seated at a table when Abbie made her way into the room. She closed the door behind her and made her way over to join him. His jacket hung on the back of his chair and his eyes roamed over a particularly large book.

"Any luck?" She asked, sitting the bag of food and drink carrier down on the table and sliding into the chair across from him.

"Not as such." He said, pushing the book aside. They were, once again, looking for some way of taking down the man they had dubbed Headless. Since Ichabod was no longer bound to him an easy death was no longer an option, and Abbie was extremely grateful for that, but they had to find some way of taking him down.

"We'll find something." She said, shrugging her own jacket off.  
She watched Ichabod carefully has he pulled the paper bag over, opened it up and looked inside.

"I got us lunch." She said.

He glanced up at her, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

"This is lunch?" He asked in disbelief.

"Well it's all wrapped up now but yeah, it's lunch." She pulled the bag from his hands and reached inside.

"Fast food." She clarified, then glanced at him, realizing that just saying fast food didn't clarify anything for him.

"Um, okay, so say you're out on the road or you're just really busy and you don't have time to make a meal, you can go to these restaurants and they have all this food that they can make really fast and they give it to you and you can be on your way." It was an extremely vague explanation but she wasn't really sure how to describe fast food, maybe she should have taken him with her, it was probably easier to see it.

"How do they make it so fast?" He asked.

"Well it's not like a full course meal, its stuff you can eat quick." She pulled out their packets of fries and handed one to him.

"So those are potatoes, they wash um and cut um up and everything and then they freeze them and when someone wants some all they have to do is dump a batch in a deep fryer and it's ready to eat in a few seconds." He was examining them closely but he looked up at her when she finished, She held up a hand to stop his question.

"I know, you don't know what a deep fryer is, I'll look it up for you later, for now just know that it's what cooks the fries." She said.

"Fries?" He picked one up and glanced at it.

"French fries, yeah." She popped a few in her mouth.

"Why are they French?" He asked. Abbie stopped and thought for a second.

"I don't really know to be honest. But they won't bite you, you can eat them." She tried to hide her smirk at his distrust of French fries.

He took a bite of one and his eyes lit up instantly.

"Oh, those are very good." He grabbed a few more and ate those as well. Abbie laughed.

"They are good, but pace yourself okay, not to many." He nodded dutifully and dropped a few back in the bag.

"Okay, next." She pulled out their cheeseburgers, set hers off to the side and then unwrapped his and sat it in front of him.

"Cheeseburger."

He glanced at it and scowled. "It doesn't look very appetizing."

She opened her own and shrugged, she had to agree.

"Yeah well, like I said, its fast food, it doesn't always look that great."

He shrugged and grabbed another fry.

"So you've got a roll, lettuce, a hamburger patty, which is just beef, cheese, ketchup, pickles and the top of the roll." She explained.

"I don't eat the pickles but that's up to you." He watched as she pealed the top of the roll off and picked what he assumed were the pickles off the burger. He followed her lead but she stopped him.

"You can keep yours on if you want. I mean, I don't know if you like pickles." He popped one in his mouth and ate it then nodded and held out his hand. She let out a snort of laughter and handed him hers which he put on his own burger, putting the roll back on top.

"And how do you eat it?" He asked.

"With your hands."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, not exactly dignified I know." She picked hers up and took a bite to show him and he followed suit.

She watched him closely as he took a few seconds to chew; he wasn't spitting it out which she supposed was a plus

"Not bad." He said, "I suppose I'll get used to it." He kept eating though so she assumed he didn't think it was that bad.

"Are one of those for me?" He asked, pointing to the drinks.

"Yep." Abbie pulled his from the cardboard holder and handed it to him, then took her own and set the holder aside.

"I just got you iced tea, I hope that's okay." She told him. He took a sip and smiled.

"Iced tea." He said aloud, as if trying the words out.

"I've never had such a thing but it's delicious." He said, taking another sip.

"What did you get?" he asked as he took another bite of his cheeseburger. He was comfortable with what was in front of him now, Abbie was always aware of that moment, after everything new had been discussed and he'd made enough sense of it in his head that he could be comfortable.

"A soda."

He shook his head, not understanding.

"Basically just water with sugar and flavoring, it's carbonated so it has bubbles in it like the energy drink you tried, that's why I went with iced tea for you."  
He held his hand out to her though.

"You're not gonna like it." She told him. He was chewing on another bite of food but he motioned with his hand for her to give it to him. She sighed and handed it over. She watched him closely as he took a sip and tried to hide his disgust as he handed it back to her.

"I told you." She said, he popped three fries in his mouth in what she assumed was an attempt to get the taste out of his mouth.

They ate in a comfortable silence after that, Abbie glanced at him now and then and smiled at the look on his face. Contentment, she decided, he may be two hundred and thirty some years out of his time but a burger and fries clearly transcended the generation gap.

Eventually she finished with her meal; she crinkled up the wrappers and tossed them in the bag then pulled over the book he'd been flipping through when she arrived. He finished his burger shortly after and tossed his wrapper in the bag as well then got up to grab another book off the shelf. He was taking his sweet time with the fries though and that was Abbie's weakness, she did love French fries, so before he sat back down at the table she snatched a few from his bag and popped them in her mouth. He sat back down and glanced at her, she couldn't exactly hide her chewing.

"Did you take some?" He asked

"Well you were taking your time; you can't let them go cold." She said.

"I wasn't aware there was a time limit to eating meals in this century." He said in his most posh accent.  
Abbie laughed; there was that 17th century sass she'd been missing.

"There's not Crane, you take as long as you want." She said with a smile.

He flipped open his book and picked up the half eaten bag of fries and offered her a few.

"Thanks." She said with a smile, taking a few more.

They were quiet for a while again but eventually Ichabod started fidgeting which Abbie knew meant he wanted to say something but didn't know how.

"Okay, what's up?" She asked, closing her book, pushing it to the side and looking at him expectantly.

"I didn't get to properly thank you for the other day." He said, he cleared his throat a little and continued.

"I should have listened to you, I should have listened to what Katrina told you, I made a very rash and emotional decision and I apologize. But I also thank you for helping me, and for staying with me." Abbie smiled and nodded.

"It's no problem Crane, really, I am just glad we could figure it out, It honestly wasn't that,"  
He reached his hand across the table and took hers, "Abbie." He said.

Her rambling stopped and she looked him in the eyes.

"It meant a lot to me. Not just that you were willing to stay but that you cared enough to. I know I am not the easiest person to deal with,"  
"You're fine." She said. He gave her a look that she clearly interpreted as 'no more interrupting.'

"I understand that I must be a bit of a burden, with you constantly having to explain everything to me but I want to thank you for not abandoning me, you're the only real friend I have in this time, I suspect it would be very hard for me to find someone else as understanding as you. I just wanted to say thank you, for the other night and for everything you've done for me thus far."

Her eyes were not tearing up, they just weren't, it was just the dust, stupid dusty books.

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

"What are fellow Witnesses for?"

He smiled and squeezed her hand back and the room was suddenly calm again.

"We've got a horseman to stop." She said with a sigh, cracking her book back open.

"We'll figure something out." He said, she caught the smile he gave her and she nodded.

"Yeah, we will."


	4. Into Darkness

**So last nights might have been my favorite episode so far, So many funny moments mixed in with perfectly acted serious moments, loved it! I can honestly say I am not in love with this oneshot but the promo was a tricky one to draw from. This comes from the line Abbie says 'We're looking for his weakness, don't let him find yours.' which I twisted a little, and Ichabods 'i am in control.' I am strangely excited to see angry Ichabod, we got a glimpse of it in last nights episode but I am excited that next week it looks like he finally just gets mad, which honestly I think he deserves to. So this oneshot is a little more angsty than the last one. either way I hope you enjoy it, send me a review and let me know what you think!**

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Abbie watched Ichabod closely though the small dirty window looking into the cell. The Horseman, or Death she couldn't decide which fit better, was chained up six ways to Sunday, they weren't taking any chances. Ichabod had been in the cell for hours now and Abbie was starting to get a little worried. She still wasn't clear on the particulars of questioning a man with no head, who therefore couldn't answer back, but Ichabod had insisted on doing most of the interrogating so she found it better not to question.

That didn't mean however that she wasn't concerned for Ichabod. She'd spoken to Andy, albeit briefly, about how to break the horseman, how to get some kind of answers from him. Andy hadn't given her anything though, just mumbled on about how you'd never get answers from him and that trying would only lead to misery.

It was that last statement that worried her the most. Ichabod was already a live wire, after discovering the Masons dead the other night he'd been a bit touchy. Abbie knew he was feeling lonely, and she understood that, but she was still worried about him.

"How's it going?" Abbie turned to find Captain Irving standing behind her.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Abbie said with a sigh. "He's been in there for hours but I don't think he's gotten anywhere." She added.

"Not really sure how many answers he's gonna get from a guy with no head but that's his problem." Irving said, stepping up to the glass.

Abbie let out a small laugh, "I was thinking the same thing."

They both stood silent for a moment and watched Ichabod; he stood directly in front of the horsemen, his eyes level to where the horsemen's eyes should be.

"I know you're capable of understanding me, I also know you're capable of answering me. Who else is coming?" He was silent for a moment, Abbie listened closely for any kind of sound from the horseman but there was nothing.

"We know you're not the only player in this war, there are other's like you, now tell me who they are." Ichabod stepped closer; Abbie drew in a quick breath. He was braver than her, she didn't even want to be in the same room with him, but Ichabod was treating him like a person, not the first horsemen of the apocalypse.

"Who are they, when are they coming?" His voice rose to a shout but the horseman remained still.

"Answer me!"

"You should get him out of there." Irving said, glancing at Abbie.

"Shouting at him isn't gonna do you any good." He added.

Abbie knocked on the glass and motioned for Ichabod to join them. He turned to leave the room and slammed the doors behind them.

"Great, a two hundred and thirty year old man throwing a temper tantrum, I'll let you handle this, call me if you get anything." Irving said dryly, and then turned to leave.

"If you don't require anything important I'll kindly ask you to allow me to continue my questioning." Ichabod said as he stepped in the room.

"I think you need a break from questioning." Abbie said.

"I can get through to him, I just need more time." He glanced through the window at him.

"Crane, it's been hours and you haven't gotten anywhere. How do you expect him to answer, he's got no head." Abbie asked.

"He'd a horseman of the apocalypse, he's not just a normal man, I assume he has ways of communicating. Technically speaking he shouldn't be alive without a head, or walking around and firing guns without a head but he is. I am sure if he's capable of these things he's capable of finding a means to speak."

Abbie head up a hand to stop his tirade.

"I was just asking alright?"

She watched him closely as he stood at the window. He was tense she could tell. His posture, which normally was extreme, seemed sharper. He was standing straighter, and taller than normal. His hands, which were normally clasped behind his back, hung at his sides, his fingers twitching endlessly.

"I just think you should take a break, he's getting to you, I can tell." She tried again.

"He is most certainly not 'getting to me' I am perfectly capable of handling an interrogation Miss. Mills." He cast her a sharp glance.

"I am not saying you aren't, I am saying this is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, this is a big deal. He's stressing you out I am not blind I can see it." She wasn't trying to be angry with him but her words were taking on a sharp edge.

Ichabod shook his head. "I am perfectly fine."  
"You're looking for his weakness; he's finding yours without even speaking." She said.

"And what would that be?" He snapped.

Abbie sighed and stepped in closer to him.

"Look Crane, I understand that you feel alone. I understand that losing the Masons was a pretty tough blow. I get that you feel lost and on your own but I think that's blinding you when it comes to this." She pointed through the window at the cell.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He scoffed.

She was trying to say it as nicely as possible but if he wasn't getting it, she'd just be to the point.

"I mean that you're emotionally vulnerable right now and it's not helping you in any way." He turned and glared at her and she knew she'd hit a nerve.

"I do not allow my emotions to compromise me, if that's what you're implying." He said.

"I am not implying it, I am stating it. You need to take a break, calm down and re think this." She said. He shook his head and turned back to the door.

"I don't need to re think anything; I know what I am doing." He was raising his voice at her, something he'd never done before.

"Crane, listen to me, this guy is throwing you off balance, he can see what's going on in your head, I don't know how but he can and he's using it against you." She told him.

"He's not." He spun back around to face her, his eyes wide with anger.

"My emotions have nothing to do with this." He added.

"Look at you right now. They do have something to do with this, if just me asking you about it is upsetting you this much, think about what it's doing to you in there." She pointed to the cell again.

"You think you have control of this but you don't, he can tell how upset you are, he's using it against you,"  
"I am in control!"  
Abbie's mouth snapped shut, her eyes widened. He'd shouted at her. She didn't know whether to be angry and leave, or apologize. She understood why he was upset, but this was no way to deal with it. They both stared at each other for what felt like a long time. Abbie stayed silent, waiting to see how he was planning on dealing with this. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, then sighed.

"Forgive me Miss. Mills." He said quietly. Abbie nodded.

"It's alright." She told him.

He opened his eyes and she could see they were bright with unshed tears, he turned his gaze to the window and she watched a few tears fall when he blinked.

Abbie didn't say anything, just grabbed his wrist and pulled him from the room.

They walked a few paces down the hallway and then she turned to look at him.

"I understand that you're upset, and I understand why." She said quietly.

"You don't." He wouldn't look at her as he talked.

"I do. You're upset because that man took everything from you." She pointed over his shoulder at the room they just left.

"Because of him you're alone. You're wife is gone, all your family and friends, even the time period where you felt at home, it's all gone and it's all his fault. I understand that. I feel the same way. I lost Corbin because of him; I lost any sense of what I thought reality was. I was living a perfectly normal life until he came along. But then he thundered in on his horse and started killing people I love and now everything's gone to hell." She didn't realize she was crying until she felt the tears on her cheeks.

"I understand feeling alone, I understand losing the people you love and being forced to do things you don't understand and didn't even think possible." She took a deep shuddering breath and looked up into his eyes.

"We're in this together, you and I, we've both lost everything but we have each other, we're all we have left." She willed her voice not to crack. How had this man reduced her to tears so many times these past few days?

"You have Miss. Jenny." He said quietly. Abbie let out a short laugh.

"I lost Jenny a long time ago. Are we working together now, yeah, but will we ever get back to what we had, I don't think so. She might never trust me again and I wouldn't blame her." She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"But you and I, we gotta trust each other, we have to do this together or not at all, got it?" She looked up into this eyes and he nodded.

"Alright, next time don't treat me like I don't understand because I do." She added.

He reached out tentatively and took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze.

"Thank you Abbie." He said quietly. She nodded and squeezed his hand back.

"Can I ask you a serious question though?" She kept her eyes on his.

"Of course." He said.

"How are you planning on getting any answers from a guy with no head, really?" He couldn't help but laugh at that and she smiled up at him.

"I am sure there's a way." He said with a shrug.

"If you say so."

They smiled at each other and Abbie knew that, even just for now, things were a little better.


	5. Sanctuary

**So this one is short and there's not much to it, I am very sorry about that. The promos are giving me less and less to work with so it's getting harder to write these. I could have made this much longer but I didn't want to speculate too much, it looks like there's a lot going on in the next episode and a lot is going to be revealed so I didn't want to get to carried away. So again, sorry for the shortness of this chapter, hopefully you enjoy it either way, shoot me a review and let me know what you think, thanks everyone!**

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It felt like it had been days. Reasonably Abbie knew it had only been maybe four or five hours, but it felt like days. She should have called for backup sooner. The second she and Crane had walked into the house all the doors and windows had snapped closed and were not budging. She knew because she and Crane had repeatedly tried to pry them open or break them down but to no avail. They were stuck in this stupid run down haunted house. She checked her cell phone again, still no service.

"Dammit." She whispered under her breath. She pocketed her phone and moved her flashlight in front of her.

At the moment she and Crane were trying to explore the house, trying being the key word there. They had split up, even though it went against everything Abbie had ever been taught, she knew they'd cover more ground. However the house apparently didn't want them to split up. They started at the entrance to what looked like an old sitting room, each of them would turn a different way, they'd walk for about a minute going completely the opposite way from each other and then would end up turning a corner and both of them being right back where they started. She knew it was impossible, she made sure to never make a turn backwards, she continued to go straight, but without fail she and Crane would end up right back where they started.

This time she was waiting for him, he'd volunteered to go off on his own and see if where he ended up was indeed the same room. She counted slowly under her breath.

"Fifty seven, fifty eight, fifty nine."  
Crane turned the corner and she sighed in defeat.

"This is ridiculous." She said, turning around and storming into the old room. She threw herself onto one of the old sofas, Ichabod tried not to wince at the un-gracefullness of it.

"How the hell are we ever supposed to get out of here if we can't even leave this room?" She rubbed at her temples; the makings of a killer headache were brewing.

"We just need to take a few moments to think things through." Ichabod said, taking a seat next to her.

"Okay so let's think. We're stuck in a haunted house that clearly doesn't want us to leave and I have no way to tell anyone where we are." She meant to continue but Ichabod waved his hand at her, cutting her off.

"That wasn't what I meant." He said.

"Alright then what did you mean?" She asked.

"The house is old, like something from my time, which means it's extremely old, so why hasn't anyone claimed it? It still sits looking like it would have all those years ago." He offered. Abbie nodded and thought for a few seconds. He was right, the room they were in now had never really been cleaned out. All the furniture sat in decent condition, there were still paintings hung on the walls and small decorations sitting around the room. It was as though no time had passed at all in the house. With the exception of everything being dusty and a bit run down everything looked just as it should.

"That is weird. Maybe something happened here. I mean clearly there's supernatural or paranormal stuff going on, maybe that has something to do with the people who owned it in your time. According to the files we read it's been sitting abandoned for a long time. Maybe the people who lived here before did something to bring about all this paranormal crap and then they just left it." Abbie added.

"It's possible, but who in my time would do something like that?"

"Witches." Abbie said easily.

"Katrina?" He glanced at her, Abbie shrugged.

"She was part a coven of witches right? Maybe someone she knew owned this house once." She suggested.

"Perhaps." He stood and began walking around the room, carefully taking in every detail.

"There weren't pictures of the house in the file we looked at were there?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"Just the outside of it, why?" She sat forward a bit, her elbows resting on her knees.

"This room just looks familiar is all." He said.

"Familiar how?" Abbie asked. He was silent for a moment, and then answered.

"It feels like I've been here before." He said quietly.

"You have a photographic memory; If you were here before you'd remember right?" Abbie asked as she stood up.

"The young woman who went missing here, the Captain said her lineage traces back to the founding fathers correct?" He walked a few paces closer to Abbie.

"Yeah, why?"  
"We need to find her."  
As if on cue a loud banging started from the hallway. Abbie gave Ichabod a look that he clearly interpreted as 'what the hell'. She pulled her gun from the holster and clicked her flashlight back on then led the way out of the room. She stopped at the door and scanned the hallway; Ichabod slipped past her and followed the sound to a set of stairs that certainly hadn't been there before.

"Well this is new." He commented dryly. Abbie moved her flashlight to the stairs and illuminated a bright red hand print smudged on the banister. They glanced at each other, a bit worried.

"After you?" He tried to make it sound like a joke but it didn't come across that way.

"I insist." Abbie said, gesturing with her hands for him to go first. He glanced at the stairs then back at her.

"Together?"

Abbie nodded and stepped up next to him, both of them taking the steps slowly and together. The banging continued as they reached a landing, Abbie was able to pinpoint that it was coming from what looked like an old closet.

"Stay back." She whispered, stepping back in front of Ichabod. She walked over slowly, grabbed the handle and pulled the door open quickly, her gun poised in front of her. She couldn't quite comprehend what she saw, the closet was filled with what looked like tree branches but in the middle she could see someone's eyes, large and frightened.  
"Oh my god." She quickly holstered her gun and started grabbing at the branches. Ichabod rushed over to help her, a bit stunned at first by what she'd found. They yanked and pulled until Ichabod was able to grab the young woman by the waist and pull her from the small room. Abbie had to blink a few times when the branches started moving; reaching for the woman as though it didn't want to let her go.  
"Take her back upstairs." Abbie told Ichabod,

"We'll wait for you." He argued.

"No, they want her, get her out of here, I'll be right there." She shouted grabbing the door and trying to force it shut.

"Go now!" She yelled when he still wouldn't move. He grabbed the young woman's arm and pulled her back up the stairs. Eventually the branches stopped writhing and Abbie was able to slam the door shut. She sighed as she leaned her weight against the wood. What the hell had they gotten into?


End file.
